Three years ago I drove to Telluride with hotshot Variety music reporter Chris Willman. The first day we drove all the way from Los Angeles to Gallup, New Mexico — call it ten hours or more if you take leg-stretching breaks. We stayed at the historic El Rancho Hotel. The remainder of the trip took four and a half hours — relatively painless by comparison.
Next Tuesday morning (8.31) Tatiana and I and the cats are following the exact same route — interstate 10 to 15 to 40 and due east. The idea is to leave super-early — 6 am or thereabouts. Crash again at the El Rancho, and push on the next morning around 9 or 10 am.
The 2021 Telluride Film Festival begins on Thursday, 9.2, but you have to get your pass, buy groceries and get squared away the day before. Five days of screenings, although I anticipate leaving town by 2 or 3 pm on Monday, 6.6.
The Gallup-to-Telluride trip is estimated at 3 hours, 45 minutes. Call it four, four and a half hours with gas stops and whatnot. Leave at 9 am, arrive at 1:30 pm, 2 at the latest.
